Life-saving device



E T HALTER LIFE SAVING DEVICE Filed Jan. 16. 1922 Elrijah Tiialter.

Patented June 12, 1923.

assen E'LIJAH Er. HALTER, oF'rHrLann rHIn; PENNSYLV NIA.

Lira-SAVING nEvroEQ t Application filedJanuary 16, 1922 Serial No.529,536.

To aZZ whom itmoy concern: i Be it known that LELIJAH T. HALTER, acitizen of the United States, -residing at Philadelphia, in the countyofPhiladelphia andState of Pennsylvania, have invented new and usefulImprovements in Life-Saving Devices, of which the following is aspecification.

.: This inventionrelates to life saving d vices and it has moreparticular reference to that class of device which is adapted to be useddrowning. I v 7 1 a The main object of my invention -1s"to provide asimple and inexpensive life saving device of theabove'referred tofcla'sswhich is of such a construction as to pe-rmitof its ready attachment tothe body of the'user' or alternatively its easy carriage in such. amanner that i-rmay be promptly brought into use when desired. With theforegoing objects in view, my invention consists essentially of acontainer .for a material, which is readily adapted to generate a gaswhenbrought intocontact with moisture, or in other words, a materialwhich is readily soluble and when so dissolved generates a gas withsuflicient rapidity to inflate a balloon of suflicient magnitude toadequate sup-port a human being when immersed in water. 7

In the further disclosure of the invention reference is to be had to theaccompanyingsheet of explanatory drawings constituting a part of thisspecification and in which like characters of reference designate thesame or correspondingparts in all the views.

Figure l is a view of the device in opera- I gagement on a tong 7.Intermediate the ends of the aforesaid casing or container 4, I providespaced apertured diaphragms 8, 9 the former of which divides the casinginto a compartment 10, which is adapted tohouse an inflatable balloon orcasing of fiexi-- ble material 11 which when expanded underthe pressureof gas or filled-with gas as later 'onexplainedyis of suihcient for thepurpose {of preventing condition awater' bagonthelike. 1 1 Said otherhand when the lid or cover 15 is with- 7 water. A ringer-the like21 maybe probuoyancy to support a person in the water. g g It is of;cou'rse tobe understood'that-the diaphragm 8 as well as the diaphragm 9 arepreferably made a friction it within. the

casing or container 4 and" their intervening space is convenientlyfilled withcalcium car-' bid, 12,- or :other' appropriate nateria'lwhich will readily generate a gasun'der the action o-fimoistureor water.g Q I Appropriately housed or fittedwithin what may be tlerme'dthe lowerpartofjthe.

casing or container 4 are elastic .stripsI 1 3' that-normally serve tokeep" in collapsed 70. water bag is adapted, when the end-[cover or lid15 is fitted'in place; to lie within the lower" compartment;- and, inorder to provide asimple and efieotive 'means for preventing "theingress" of" water through the aperture or feed opening 16 in said endcover, I fit therein a hinged flap valve 17,

e that is adapted to be held securely closed v by a pin or stud 18.

-- From the foregoing it will be readily seen that when the severalparts occupy the position shown by Figure 2 that the end cover or lid 15remains a friction fit; and

holds the parts collapsed asshown. On'the 5 drawn to extend the waterbag 14:, said water will percolatethrough the opening 16 in oppositionto the flap valve 17 and fill said bag 14: from whence it will flowthrough the valve aperture 19 and percolate through the diaphragm 9,thus generating gas which will flow through the diaphragm 8 and.infiatethe casing or bag 11 of flexible mate-" rial. It will of coursebe readily understood that the gas 'bagll is of a nature-to'containsufiicient gas to adequately support a human body when exposed orunexpectedly immersed in water, I I c a a In attaching the device asuitable elasp' 20 forv the passage therethroughof-a strap or the likemaybe employed so that when the said device is worn it may be secured tothe outer clothing or wearing apparel where it will be readily exposedto the action of the m vided so that the cover orlid 15'canbe read ilyor quickly withdrawn. f I It will be understood that as the pressurebegins to rise in the gas compartment and a bag pressure ishad, thevalve cover at 19 will be forced into sealing relation with the valveaperture 19- so' as to prevent theloss of the gas into the compartmentcontaining the water bag.

From the foregoing description and an examination of the drawing it willbe readily seen that my improved life saving device is of an extremelysimple and eflicient construction and that by its use, a person wearingthe same or holdingthe same in a substantially upright position may beprevented from sinking in shallow or deep water without any appreciableeffort: on his or her part for a considerable period of time. \Vhilstthere has been shown and described a preferred embodiment of myinvention the same must not be too conservatively con st-rued in that itwill be obvious, detailed I changes may be made without departing fromthe spiritand scope of said' invention as.- more specifically defined bythe appended claims.

Having described myinvention, what. I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent is:

1. In a device of the class described, the combination of a main casing,a plurality of apertured partitions therein, a cover hingedly mounted atone end, a gas bag secured to said main casing and normally containedtherein between said cover and one of said partitions, gas formingmaterial between said partitions, a water bag secured in said maincasing and operable to supply water to said gas forming material, an endmember secured to said Water bag, a fingerpiece for operating said endmember, and automatic means for returning said end member tonormalposition. i

2. In a device ofthe class described, the combinationao f a main easing,a plurality oii apertured' partitions therein, a cover liingedly mountedat one end, a gas bag secured to said main casing and normally containedtherein between said cover and one of said partitions, gas formingmaterial between said partitions, a water bag secured in said: maincasing and. operable to 1! supply waten to said gas forming material, anend member secured to saidwater bag, a finger-piece for operating saidend member, automatic-means for returning said end member to normalposition, and valve mechanism associated with the aforesaid elements asand for thepurpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I a-flix my signature ELIJ AH T. HALTER.

